Oregon Teen's Corsage Business Wins National FFA Sales Award

A floral business that started with corsages for school dances just won the top national award in agricultural sales entrepreneurship. Tatum Lancaster, a 2026 graduate of Tillamook High School and member of the Tillamook FFA Chapter, was named the 2026 National FFA Agricultural Sales – Entrepreneurship Proficiency Award winner — the highest national honor in her award area, according to the Tillamook County Pioneer.

Lancaster received the award on Thursday, October 22, 2026, during the 99th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana. The announcement came as a surprise on stage at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, before roughly 40,000 spectators in a concert-like atmosphere. An estimated 30,000 additional convention attendees followed the celebration.

How did a class project become a business?

Lancaster's path began in a floriculture class at Tillamook High School, where she discovered an interest in floral design and spotted a market opportunity. She founded Western Grace Floral Co. in 2024, starting with corsages and boutonnieres for school dances.

The product line grew with her customer base. She expanded into special events, full-service wedding florals, and paid floral design classes. Along the way, the report notes, Lancaster gained extensive experience in customer service, sales, marketing, pricing, financial management, and entrepreneurship.

The takeaway: a supervised school project became a full-service enterprise in roughly two years.

What is a Supervised Agricultural Experience?

A Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) is a student-led, work-based learning opportunity that lets agricultural education students apply classroom knowledge through employment, research, or entrepreneurship. Along with classroom instruction and FFA involvement, SAEs form one of the three central components of agricultural education.

The National FFA Agricultural Proficiency Awards recognize members who demonstrate exceptional skill development, career experience, and growth through their SAEs. The competition is steep. After state-level competition and national evaluation, just four finalists are selected in each award area. Only one earns the national title.

Lancaster's achievement, the Pioneer reports, reflects years of business development, careful recordkeeping, and dedication to her enterprise. In plain terms: the award went to the operator with the books to back it up.

What comes next for the founder?

Lancaster is now attending Oregon State University, where she is focusing her studies on marketing and continuing to build on the entrepreneurial experience she developed through Western Grace Floral Co. Her studies track directly to the skills the business demanded — sales, pricing, and financial management.

Her win is a first-order achievement for Tillamook High School, the Tillamook community, and Oregon FFA, the report notes. It also shows what the agricultural education model — classroom instruction plus supervised experience plus FFA leadership — can produce when a student commits to it.

The Tillamook FFA Chapter sits within the Agricultural Sciences and Industrial Technology Program at Tillamook High School. Through classroom instruction, supervised agricultural experiences, and FFA leadership opportunities, students build practical skills, leadership abilities, and career readiness for agriculture and beyond, according to the chapter's description.

From a high school floriculture classroom to the national FFA stage, Lancaster's run shows the ceiling for student-run ventures that keep growing their book of business.